PREVIEW | 2023 China Open WTA Last 16 including ANDREEVA v RYBAKINA and PEGULA v OSTAPENKO

Tuesday, 03 October 2023 at 18:30

The Last 16 is here at the 2023 China Open, with Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina among those involved in top matches on Wednesday morning.

Rybakina in particular is in a crunch clash with Mirra Andreeva, while Pegula faces Jelena Ostapenko. Iga Swiatek is also in an all Polish duel with Magda Linette.

Rybakina-Andreeva takes centre stage

The top match is between Elena Rybakina facing off against Mirra Andreeva. One of the best players in the world takes on one aiming to join the party in 16-year-old prodigy, Andreeva.

Andreeva steadied off after her early promise but re-emerged winning through China Open qualifying. She then took down two players in relative form in Barbora Krejcikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The latter in particular reached the semi-finals in Tokyo over the past week. But was brushed aside by the new player on the block.

It is a first time meeting between the pair and one for a spot in the Quarter-Finals in Beijing.

That though will be played on the second court with a doubles game preferred alongside Jessica Pegula v Jelena Ostapenko which is the only singles tie on the Diamond court.

It is currently 3-1 to Pegula in Head to Head and one she won at the same round earlier this year in Doha.

The other two ties see Iga Swiatek face Magda Linette in a rare all Polish battle. One two that has never been played so barring in teams action, they have never shared the court.

Prior to that is two spoilers in the draw in Marta Kostyuk who took down Ons Jabeur and the usual excellence of Liudmila Samsonova with that tie which could gleam an interesting Quarter-Final first up after the first doubles match. Not before 2pm local time on Wednesday. The business end begins in Beijing.

Schedule - Day Five 2023 China Open

Diamond - Starts at 12:00pm

Jessica Pegula [4] (USA) v Jelena Ostapenko [13] (LAT)

Lotus - Starts at 12:00pm

Liudmila Samsonova v Marta Kostyuk

Magda Linette (POL) v Iga Swiatek [2] (POL)

Mirra Andreeva v Elena Rybakina [5] (KAZ)

The Tennis Letter

@TheTennisLetter

·Follow

Elena Rybakina & Mirra Andreeva will meet in Beijing Round of 16. What did we do to deserve this. 🥹

1:18 PM · Oct 3, 2023

597

Read 17 replies

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

Magnifique from Adrian Mannarino as Frenchman captures second ATP tour title of 2023 at Astana Open

"How cool is this": Holger Rune shares delight at being assigned locker room previously used by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Shanghai Masters